Wild West Winterfest
Bozeman, Montanawww.groeschen.com
Feb. 18
I flew in to Bozeman Montana, 9:00 at night. Rented an economy car. I wanted to drive my own beater but in the middle of winter from Washington to Montana, over three mountain passes, not a good idea. Is it cold or is it my imagination? The man on the radio says it's 2 degrees, tomorrow it will be 3. I'm gonna carve in the Wild Winterfest. And it's wild winter weather. I heard Montana winters are brutal.
Feb. 20
Ok, it got cold. 15 below 0 farenheit. Not to mention the windchill factor. Any expose skin felt frozen immediately. Brutal. Artic conditions. Frigid. But, I pulled off the carvings...nobody watching the show except for the drunk cowboy's and hockey players.
Feb. 21
Article from the local paper...
CUTTING INTO ART
By BROOK GRIFFIN, Chronicle Staff Writer
If the old masters had access to a gas-powered Husqvarna 353, Jessie Groeschen believes they would have used them.
"I think if Michelangelo were alive today he would be using chain saws," Groeschen said just before ripping into a block of cottonwood with one of her three high-powered saws.
Groeschen, a wood carver from Washington state, was at the 2006 Wild West Winter Fest at the Gallatin County Fairgrounds Saturday, showing her cutting skills despite frigid temperatures.
"The wood is frozen," she said just before slicing into a 3-foot tall, block of wood for her latest creation. "It's harder to do."
Undaunted, Groeschen sliced into the wood over and over again, chipping away the surface and exposing the white golden wood beneath the bark. Sawdust flew off the wood as she dropped down to her knees for a horizontal swipe of the blade.
Groeschen, 37, is an award-winning wood sculptor, and her creations are much more than just wooden bears seen on roadsides. In 13 years as a professional artist she has done everything from gigantic totem poles to detailed studies of the human form, all of it done with a chain saw. In all her time working with electric blades, Groeschen said she has only cut herself once. "It can be dangerous, I cut my toe once when I was wearing flip-flops and I was using a dull chain saw," she said. She has even written a book on the subject called the "Art of Chainsaw Carving," which profiles a number of her fellow artists and their work. "I'm fascinated with the creativity you can have with a chain saw," she said.
The crowd that gathered around her Saturday was also fascinated. "It's quite amazing," said Robbie Harbour who was in Bozeman visiting relatives. "She just keeps hacking on it and by the end of the day she has something." In less than 45 minutes Groeschen had carved out the head of an eagle on a leaf. The image wasn't even the one she starting out making, she said later. "I was going to do a cabin with a tree," she said. "But once I got into it I decided on an eagle with feather."
Sometimes the image forms itself as she goes, and all she has to do is cut off the pieces that don't fit.
Lynda Bartling of Bozeman has several wood sculptures in her home and said there is no doubt in her mind about what chain saw carving is all about. "This is an art form," Bartling said.
Groeschen has had gallery showings of her work, and said her art -- and all chain saw artists -- are beginning to attract more attention from the mainstream art world.
"The stereotype is a big guy with a bushy beard selling bears on the street corner," she said. "But I think it's starting to get respect in the art community."
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